Saturday, January 29, 2011

Raisin Cookies


Ingredients:
Maida or purpose flour 2 cups
Canola oil or Liquid ghee 1 cup
Powdered sugar 1 cup
(adjust accordingly)
Baking powder ½ teaspoon
Raisins or Kismiss ½ cup
Vanilla essence 1 teaspoon

Preparation:
1. Add maida, baking powder, sugar and mix well.

2. Blend oil till becomes smooth. Add raisins and vanilla essence and mix well.


3. Blend the dough in a processor or mixie for about 3 minutes. If the dough is hard add little warm milk or warm water spoon by spoon and knead it. 

 4. Make the dough into even sized balls, place the dough balls on a greased cookie baking tray and flatten the dough by hand. Use a cookie cutter or mould make them into the desired shape.






5. Bake the cookies in oven at 350 Fahrenheit or 180 Celicus for about 10 to 15 minutes. The cookies will turn color slightly and will feel soft on touch. After cooling they will become hard. If you over bake they will be very crunchy or hard.

Bread Pongal Toast

Kids are very fussy about rice some times …. In general they like bread toast .. so we can a combo they will enjoy it ….
Ingredients:
Bread slices 2
Pongal 1 cup
Ghee or oil 2 teaspoons

Preparation:
1. Spread pongal on the bread slices.
2. Heat a pan or griddle. Roast bread slices on it in medium flame. Gently flip it over to the other side.  Spread 1 teaspoon of oil or ghee along the edges of the bread slices.

3. Cook for about 2 minutes and serve lot with ketchup.

Cabbage Moong Sprouts Curry


Ingredients:
Cabbage 1 pound or ½ kg
Pesalu or sprouted green gram dal 1 cup
Urad dal or Menapa pappu 1 teaspoon
Chana dal or Senaga pappu 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds 1 teaspoon
Jeera ½ teaspoon
Milk 1 teaspoon
Onion 1 (optional)
Red Chillies 2
Green chillies 3
Ginger 2 inch piece
Hing or inguava 1 pinch
Curry leaves 1 bunch
Tumeric powder 1 pinch
Oil 1 table spoon or 3 teaspoon
Salt as needed

Preparation:
1. Cut the cabbage into small size pieces. Cut onions into small pieces.  Heat a skillet or deep vessel with 2 cups water and cabbage pieces and pesalu or sprouted green gram dal, tumeric powder and milk. The milk will retain the white color of cabbage.


2. When the cabbage and pesalu or green moong dal is fully cooked switch off the stove. Strain the water completely.

3. Heat a skillet or deep tawa add oil after oil is heated add mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal, jeera, curry leaves, red chillies cut into 3 or 4 pieces and hing. (Add onions and fry them until they become soft and translucent). Add cooked cabbage and pesalu or sprouted green gram dal and mix well cover a lid and keep in medium flame . Mix well in between.

4. In a mixie or blender make a soft paste of ginger and green chillies and mix well. When the curry is fully cooked add salt and mix well and switch off the stove.



Saturday, January 22, 2011

Tomato Dosa

All kids like tomatoes ... they love this dosa. I have not added ginger and green chillies as I made these for my kids...

Ingredients:
Tomatoes 2
Coriander powder ½  teaspoon
Dosa batter 4 cups
Ginger finely chopped 1 inch piece
Green chillies 2 small pieces

Preparation:
1. Cut the tomatoes and grind the mixie or blender and make into soft puree.



2. Add all the ingredients to dosa batter and mix well. Heat a tawa and spread the batter into 6 inch round shape.


3. When is cooked on one side gently flip it over to the other side and after 45 sec to 1 minute. Serve lot with chutney or pickle.


Sooji Punukulu or Umpa rava punukulu or Sooji Pakoras


Ingredients:
Sooji  or Upma rava  2 cups
Curd ½ cup
Onions 1 finely chopped into small pieces
Green chillies 3 finely chopped
Ginger 1 inch piece finely chopped
Baking soda 1/4 teaspoon
Salt as needed

Preparation:
1. Mix sooji or upma rava, curd and  little water for 15 minutes. The batter should not be thick or thin.
2. Add onions, green chillies, ginger, baking soda and salt to the sooji mixture.
3. Heat a kadia or skillet or deep frying pan add oil when the oil is hot add the teaspoon full of batter into the hot oil. Reduce to medium low flame.
4. When the punukulu are uniformly fried on all sides and turn to golden light brown color. Remove them from the pan and transfer them on a tissue paper. 
5. Serve them with peanut chutney, coriander chutney or allam chutney.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Besan Ladoo


Ingredients:
Ladoo Besan  4 cups
Sugar 3 cups
(adjust accordingly)
Cardamom powder ½ teaspoon
Ghee 1½ cup
Rasins handful
Pistachios 2 teaspoons

Preparation:
1. Heat a skillet or kadia and turn to medium low flame. Add ghee to it. Use ladoo besan it is slightly coarse besan which is used for making ladoos.


2. After the ghee is melted add ladoo besan powder to it. For about 10 to 15 minutes in medium low flame stir it. Nice smell will come and the color changes slightly .


3. Add pistachios and raisins. Mix well.


4. Add the powdered sugar, cardamom powder and mix well ,switch off the stove. Let is cool for a while.




5. Apply ghee to to hands and make them into ladoos. They are very tasty and can be made quickly.

Pulihara Avakaya


Ingredients:
Big Sour Mango 1
Red chilli powder 1 cup
Mustard powder or Ava podi ¾ cup
Menthi powder ¼ cup
Tumeric powder ½ teaspoon
Urad dal or Menapu pappu 2 teaspoons
Chana dal or Senaga papu 2 teaspoons
Curry leaves 2 bunches
Mustard seeds or Avalu 1 teaspoon
Red chilies 6
Oil 2 cups
Hing or Inguava 3 pinches
Salt ¾ cup
(adjust accordingly)

Preparation:
1. Cut the Raw mango in to very small pieces or use food proccesor in pulse mode to cut mango into very small pieces.

2. Add salt, turmeric and mix well. Add red chilli powder, mustard powder and menthi powder. Mix well.







3. Heat a pan and add oil when the pan is heated add urad dal, chana dal,mustard seeeds, red chillies cut into 2 or 3 pieces, curry leaves and hing. When the dals change color and mustard seeds start to splutter.

4. Add the above tadka to the pickle bowl an mix well.

5. If you want to store longer add more oil and mix every day for 2 to 3 days. Store it in bottle and refrigirate for longer shell life. Very good with rice, dosa, vadas and upma also.